Tube cap having a spring-biased pivoted closure



Patented June 26, 1951 TUBE CAP HAVING A SPRING-BIASED PIVOTED CLOSUREDonald V. OKeefe and Marion C. OKeefe, Omaha, Nebr., assgnors ofone-third to Edgar W. Lakin, Omaha, Nebr.

Application July 11, 1949, serial No. 103,990

1 Claim. l This invention relates to tube caps for toothpaste tubes,shaving cream tubes, cold cream and other dispensable materials that arecustomarily sold in tubes and jars.

It is well known that toothpaste tubes are normally made of soft metalwhereby the threads formed on the neck of such tubes become worn due tocontinued usage whereby air is allowed to enter the tube and harden thecontents. Such former caps also allow a greater supply of material outof the tube that can be. immediately used since the flow of paste cannotrapidly be shut 01T. Also through inadvertence such `caps `are misplacedand frequently become lost causing the toothpaste to harden and becomewasted.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a tube cap whichis adapted to rapidly open and close the spout of the tube as desired`and which is permanently secured to the tube in a manner whereby thecap cannot become lost.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tube cap which can beused on successive tubes or jars whereby the cost of the needed caps isnegligible.

Another object is to provide a tube cap of superior quality forincreasing the sale of toothpaste due to the caps novel andattention-attracting features.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device for the purposedescribed which is sturdy and durable in construction, reliable andefficient in operation, and relatively simple and inexpensive tomanufacture, assemble and utilize.

Other and still further objects and advantages of the invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description of a preferredembodiment thereof.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the tube cap and tube, the latter isshown broken away for purposes of illustration. The open position of thecap is shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the tube cap;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure l andshowing the interior construction of the cap; and

Figure 4 is a partial sectional View taken on line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawing for a more particular description there isshown at IG a tube of the general nature for which the cap I4 of thisinvention is used. The tube I6 has a threaded neck i2 which iscustomarily sold with a detachable cap in position thereon. Thisthreaded cap will be discarded and a cap I4 substituted therefor.

The cap i4 has a rectangular main body portion I6 formed integrally withan annular ring i8, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, centrallypositioned upon the upper body surface 20. An

zzz- 517) aperture 22 extends from the ring vertically downward throughthe body portion I6. The lower end of the aperture 22 is provided withthreads 24 complemental in size with the threaded neck I2 of the tube i6whereby the tube and cap may be threadedly secured together.

VTwo vertically disposed spaced apart tang members or wings 26 areintegrally formed on y an extension offset from one side of the mainbody I6 and are each provided with the vertically extending pivot pinslots 28 which are in axial alignment transversely with each other.

The upper portion or closure cap 3i! is provided with a circulardepression 62 formed in the under surface 34 and is of slightly largerdiameter than the annular ring i6 of the lower body portion I6. A corkwasher 38 is positioned in the depression -32 whereby `at times when theupper cap portion 3U is in its closed position, as shown in full linesin Figure 1, the annular ring I8 abuts the cork washer 38 sealing offthe upper end of the vertical aperture 22.

The upper cap portion 30 is provided with an outwardly extending thumblever 40 above a lower pivot arm 42 both formed integrally with the capportion 36.

Transversely disposed pivot pins 44 extend outwardly from the sides ofthe lower pivot arm 42 and are received in the vertical pivot pin slots28 of the tang members 26.

A tension spring 45, substantially C-shaped in side view, is received atits upper end 46 in a cavity 48 provided between the thumb lever 40 andthe lower pivot arm 42. The lower end 56 of the spring is received in asimilar cavity 52 provided under the lower end of the tang members 26.

Both cavities 4B and 52 are positioned inwardly or farther toward themain body portion than are the pivot pins 44 when the upper cap portion30 is in its down or closed position.

When the upper cap portion 36 is in its open or dotted line position asshown in Figure 1, the upper cavity 48 is then positioned outwardly fromthe pivot pins 44 whereby the spring 44 is continually under tension andit will tend to maintain the upper cap portion 36 in closed positionwhen the cap is fully closed and will also tend to keep the cap 30 in anopen position when it is fully open.

In operation, the cap l2 is substituted for the conventional threadedcap which is discarded.

In order to open the tube, the thumb lever which is ordinarily held in aclosed position by the tension of the spring is depressed past the deadcenter position of the spring. Thereupon the tension acts to hold thecap in an open position bearing -against the spring as shown in itsdotted line position in Figure 1.

From the foregoing description it is thought 3 to be obvious that a tubecap constructed in accordance with my invention is particularly Welladapted for use by reason of the convenience and facility with which itmay be assembled and operated, and it will also be obvious that myinvention is susceptible of some change and modii-` cation withoutdeparting from the principles and spirit thereof, and for this reason Ido not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precisearrangement and formation of the several parts herein shown in carryingout my invention in practice, except Ias claimed.

We claim:

In a collapsible tube cap, the combination which comprises an elongatedbody of rectangular-shape in cross section, having a bore extendedcontinuously therethrough with internal threads in the lower end of thebore for receiving the threaded neck of a collapsible tube and having aring around the bore and extended from the opposite end, said bodyhaving an extension on one side with a longitudinally disposed recess inthe outer surface providing wings at the sides, said wings havingaligned bearing slots extended inwardly from the upper ends and saidextension having a transverse cavity in the lower end positioned at theintersection of the lower end surface of the extension with theadjoining side surface of the body, a closure cap positioned on theupper end of the body and having an upwardly offset thumb lever extendedhorizontally outwardly in a plane parallel to the face of the closurecap, said closure cap having a recess in the 4 under surface positionedto receive the ring on the upper end of the body and a downwardlyextended pivot arm spaced from and below the thumb lever, and said pivotarm having raligned pins integral therewith, extended from the sidesthereof, and positioned in the slots in the upper ends of the wingsthereby pivotally mounting the closure cap on the body, said pivot armhaving a spring retaining cavity in the upper surface positioned at theintersection thereof with the offset section of the thumb lever, and a-at spring C- shape in longitudinal section embracing the pivot arm andextension and positioned with the upper end in the cavity of the pivotarm and the lower end in the cavity in the -lower end surface of theextension whereby the spring urges the closure cap to the closedposition and, passing below the center of the pins of the pivot arm,retains thev closure cap on the body with the cap in the open position.

DONALD V. OKEEFE. MARION C, OKEEFE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,597,421 all Aug. 24, 19261,724,963 Picker Aug, 20, 1929 1,794,987 Sebolt Mar, 3, 1931 1,964,104Borthwick June 26, 1934

